What are elite cricket batsmen saying when they talk to themselves?

Is there anyone lonelier than the dismissed batsman walking back to the pavilion? What does he or she say to themselves to ease the disappointment? In a new study of the self-talk used by elite batsmen this is just one of six critical phases of a batting innings that were examined. "What I said to myself helped me to stay positive, knowing that [my] game plan was a good one," said one player about a recent dismissal. He was one of five players who participated in the research, all based at a county cricket club in England. Two of the others described how they called themselves names and criticised their own shot selection. A recurring theme throughout the study was for this kind of negativity to be followed by motivational self-talk. A big problem with research into self-talk in sport is finding a way to access what athletes really say to themselves. To help this process, the researchers, Adam Miles (himself an elite cricketer) and Rich Neil, used video footage of their participants' recent batting innings from a week earlier. The batsmen watched these short clips of critical junctures in their innings and were asked to reminisce and reflect on what they'd said to themselves at the time. After watching footage of himself defending the first ball of his innings, "Player D" said that he used the cue word "ball" at that time and throughout his batting performance to help focus his attention. "It's a routine that enabled me to switch back on between deliveries," he said. This ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs